Nordmende transistor radios in the USA (1960s/1970s)

(This forum entry is inspired by my recent acquisition of a beautiful Globetraveler IV, which I have added to the Museum.  This model is a personal favorite of mine and has been since I first saw one in a shop window in the summer of 1970.  I gathered many various bits of information on this and other US-version Nordmende radios over the years, and I now offer them here.)

Before I start:

First, many thanks to Martin Boesch for his help and encouragement, and his excellent Nordmende Globetrotter Web page.  Some of the information I am offering here I have already shared with him, and he has added it to that page.

Second, the information I am offering is from many sources over several years, mostly on the Web, and some personal recollections and observations.  It is strictly 'to the best of my knowledge' and is not absolute.  I welcome any and all corrections and/or clarifications.

Many of the German radio makers exported models to the USA, and Nordmende was one of them.  The 'Nordmende-Sterling' brand name of tube radios is well-known; the 'Sterling' part was a reference to 'Sterling Hi-Fi', an outfit in New York City that was the exclusive distributor for Nordmende in the USA (and more importantly, for repair parts) into the 1970s. (Further information on this point would be appreciated.)

When Nordmende began building transistor radios, they also built US-export versions of those, particularly the early Transita models.  Some of these were also repackaged and sold under the 'Columbia' name ('Triumph III' and 'Masterwork Galaxy' are two examples; the resemblance to the early-60s Transitas is unmistakable).  In the mid-60s, however, things got more interesting.  When Nordmende introduced their 'Globetrotter', in response to the Grundig 'Satellit', they also began exporting a US version of it--and ran into legal trouble in the US for trademark infringement.  (Here is another place where I would appreciate some clarification, because I have seen two very different accounts of this, and I do not know which is correct:  One account says the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team took the legal action; the other says it was the US TV- and radio manufacturer RCA.  [RCA had used the name 'Globe Trotter' on various models of tube and transistor portable radios for some time, and were still using it at the time the Nordmende radios appeared.  I believe they used the name until the late 1960s.]  Because of this more direct conflict, I am more inclined to believe the RCA version of the story, but I would like to find some verification.)  Nordmende reacted to the lawsuit (perhaps overreacted is a better word) by renaming the US-export version of this model--and almost every other portable radio model they exported to the US--'Globetraveler'.  I say 'overreacted' because several Transita and Galaxy mesa models were also renamed, even though there would not have been any trademark conflicts.  These radios were not easy to get in the US, because they tended to be sold only in 'exclusive' stores or through mail order, and were quite expensive (for example, around 1970, there were three 'Globetraveler' models offered: Globetraveler III, Globetraveler IV, and Globetraveler Pro; they sold for US$180, US$200, and US$210 respectively--if I remember correctly, there was still a fixed US$-DM exchange rate at that time of about 1:4, so that would have been approximately DM720, DM800 and DM840). 

Now, I offer here a list of German models and their US-export equivalents from the mid-1960s on:

D: Globetrotter --> US: Globetraveler

D: Transita royal --> US: Globetraveler jr.

D: Globetrotter TN6000 --> US: Globetraveler II/Globetraveler III/Globetraveler VIP¹

D: Globetrotter amateur --> US: Globetraveler PRO¹

D: Globetrotter TN6001 --> US: Globetraveler IV^1,2

D: Globemanager (Typ 191) --> US: Globetraveler super²

D: Transita exact --> US: Globetraveler exec³

D: Transita stereo --> US: Globetraveler stereo

D: Galaxy mesa 7000/9000st --> US: Globetraveler 7000/9000st²

Notes:  ¹ All of these models carried the 'Typ 101' designation

             ² US-export version has added FM tuner for 147...174 MHz

             ³ Cosmetically identical; different frequency coverage (MW/1,6...4 MHz 'marine'/2x SW/FM)

I hope any of this information is useful; again, I make no claim that it is absolute and welcome any and all corrections.

Thanks in advance,

Todd

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